Challenge: Shanks
by maybelady
Summary: Pretty much the standard girl falls into one piece story, YOU MIGHT THINK. But fate is cruel and it will break more than just one heart. Light hearted now, but dark eventually. Rating will go up soon
1. Chapter 1

So! Hi guys!

we've got a little something here... Something you can JOIN IN :) to explain... This is a challenge fic, just for fun, no competition.

first off, WE is therealebonygoddess and me. We work with the same OC and a few set plot points. Then we let this collide with a one piece character and see what'll happen.

so now our INVITATION: send either one of us a pm that you wanna be part of this and then include a character. Best of course if you know that one very well.

We UPDATE every sunday. Today isn't sunday you say? You are right ;) but it's the first week, so we'll give you a treat. Two chapters now and a third on sunday :) have fun!

Chapter 1

Sophie wasn't sure whether she should be excited about this week. Her university had arranged for a trip to learn about the different side subjects. Eventually she was to chose a second subject acompaning her recent one: applied mathematics.

She was often told she looked just like the normal geek, but she wholeheartedly disagreed. Just because she prefered jeans over dresses did not mean she looked like a nerd. She didn't even wear glasses; like some hipster nerds did.

She had packed her luggage as well as a small backpack, where she kept the things she would need daily. Knowing herself like she did, she knew unpacking wasn't likely to happen so it was just very convenent like this.

Slipping in her shoes, she checked the windows one last time, closed the door behind her and locked it. She was off.

* * *

She met up with her friends and fellow students at the train station. They all seemed so happy to get out of the normal university life, and Sophie had to agree, it had its ups.

But she was interested in biology and they wouldn't visit this particular faculty until thursday. This afternoon would be spend in physics labs, though she couldn't imagine why physicists would need labs Inthe first place.

The train ride itself didn't take long and they were even picked up by a bus. Oxford, she thought, not too bad of place to study at. Next to the prestige there was also a lot of money invested in research here. She knew this was something to appreciate.

Her group was directly taken to the faculty of physics while the luggage was transported for them to the dormitory.

First part of the trip involved a presentation of the institute as well as the subject. Sophie prepared for the endless talk physics seem to always involve and was soon greeted with just that.

She stopped listening after a few minutes and must have dozed of. She promised herself she would get back at Jack and Ellen for leaving her behind, grabbed her stuff and made for the door.

Not knowing which way was the right she just walked to the left. She didn't even care to find them at this point. Not encountering anyone in the hall Sophie decided to check a door every now and then. She was only faced with one staff member and quickly excused herself from the office.

One room she peeked into made her pause however.

She could hear waves. Amused she walked in. So those geeks where into relaxing music? Yes, she freely refered to others as geeks, go figure.

She walked around and found herself in front of a big screen. There was an ocean there, so this was what she had heard.

There was something off about the image, so they definetely need to work on that resolution or whatever was wrong with it. She looked back at the ocean. It was some feet below her. She couldn't see any islands or anything of interest.

Until a ship came into view. She could hear some shouts as well now; and they seemed to come from the direction the ship was on the screen.

This was exciting, a screen incoorporating the speakers? She couldn't wait to have one of those at home! Now she was really curious. What would a speaker-screens surface feel like? What was it made of?

She moved closer and touched the surface.

* * *

When she woke up again, she was drenched and lying on a wooden surface. The sun was in her face so she rolled over and slowly sat back up.

What she saw made her weak to the bones. She was on a ship. Was it the same ship she had seen earlier? It was impossible, but she had nothing else to start at. She looked up into the sky searching for anything familiar, maybe a way back. But there was nothing. She started to panic, quickly.

Her breathing got dangerously fast, someone told her to calm down, but she couldn't. This was all wrong, so very wrong. She couldn't think any further, her head got too light and she fainted.


	2. Chapter 2

chapter 2

The captain of the ship wasn't usually up before noon. But this day was different. Something had alerted his crew and even Benn, his first mate, wore a worried look on his face.

'What's up?' His wide grin put into place.

'Strange things, boss. Even for the New World.'

'How strange are we talking, Benn-is-smiling-strange or the-sea-turning-yellow-strange?' Still not the least bit concern in his features.

Benn gave up. 'A girl fell out of nowhere into the sea not far from us. She was unoncious when we got her out. Once she was awake again she started to panic, hyperventilated and was out. She kept looking in the sky as if she was searching for something.'

Shanks' face was a picture of disbelief.

'She is not hurt or anything, but seemed confused. Once she wakes up again I suggest you go talk to her.' Shanks still just stared at him. Benn didn't care much, he considered his job done. This was captain's territory now.

* * *

Sophie slowly came back to her senses. She was in a bed by now. Still in her wet clothes though. Her last hope of this being just a very realistic dream slipped away. She looked around but nothing was familiar. Her gaze fell onto a chair with a small pile of clothes on top of it. Some shorts and a buttoned shirt. Sure, why not. At least they were dry; Sophie had started to shiver slightly.

She felt exposed in this room however. There was no lock to the door and the room itself was small enough that whoever would enter might run into her.

Well, better be quick about it.

She got out of her clothes and back into the shirt when she heard steps approaching. Quickly she jumped back into the bed and under the covers.

The door opened and Sophie could feel her breath getting out of hand again. This was too much, no, this was plain impossible.

The man sat down on the chair, slowly, as to not stress her any further. He was talking to her but she didn't hear a thing. Her mind had still not accepted what her senses told her.

Right in front of her sat Red Hair Shanks. This should not be possible. Yet it was happening right in front of her. She could just stare at him. It was all there; the blood red hair, dark blue eyes, the three scars across his left eye. Just his famous smile was gone. He looked concerned. Then her world went black again.

* * *

Shanks was not really surprised by the girls behaviour. He knew that many civilians trusted the government, so naturally those people would fear him.

He thought it was best to leave, it would certainly calm her down more than him sitting next to her. He made sure she was breathing evenly and left for his cabin.

Her backpack had been brought there. It might tell him, who she was or which island she was from.

Everything in there was soaked. He pulled out a heavy book, even heavier now that the paper was wet. He opened up some pages, happy that it was still very well readable. But his head shifted to the right when he tried to read it.

There were sentences there he could read but they made no sense. Also large parts were consisting of both numbers and random letters. He was at a loss. He had never seen this kind of code before. Was that young woman a spy? He felt uneasy about tieing her down but he ordered two of his man to stand watch in front of her room immediately.

He just poured the rest of the contents onto his desk. There was her purse. And inside he didn't find beli. But... pounds? Those coins were heavy but they definetely didn't weight as much as a pound. Next he found a plastic card with a picture of the girl. Sophie Larson. So this was her name. He ordered someone to check for a wanted poster.

It did also gave him an adress and a town, as well as a country. But he had never heard of London or England. Nor had met anyone possesing such a card.

Shanks leaned back in his chair, taking in what he had learned of her so far. Nothing made much sense and things wouldn't get any more plausible without talking to her. Hopefully she would last longer this time and actually respond to him.

He rose and made for Sophies room again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sophie had awakened soon after Shanks had left. Awake again she at least had some kind of knowledge as to where she was now.

This was the Ship of Red Hair Shanks,; she believed to remember it was called the Red Force. Through the small bull eye she could see nothing but a big body of water. Not much help there. This could be any part of the One Piece world.

Her stuff wasn't with her. It was bound to be all wet though and most of it she would have to throw away. Her heart twisted at that. She didn't want to part with any of it. After all, this was all she had for now. And who knows, could she even get back home? Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a quiet knock.

Startled she realised that she should have spend her alone time putting the pants on.

'Yes?' She finally answered the door. It was him again. She looked at him expectantly. He finally smiled faintly.

'You think you can stay awake for a few minutes?' Sophie laughed, he was really funny.

Shanks was grinning now, too. He was relieved she wasn't scared or panicked anymore.

'I have your stuff back in my cabin, it's all wet but I think not all is ruined.' That was instant relief for Sophie.

'Thank you, also for pulling me out of the water.'

'Honestly, I was still asleep when you took some swimming lessons.' She laughed again, just couldn't help it. Maybe this was some weird dream, maybe she had caused a short circuit when she had touched the screen and was in a coma. She didn't care. Sophie was enjoying the conversation.

'My men said you fell from the sky... Is that true?' He didn't want this to be an interrogation and so he kept his voice low and a smile on his face, but he also wanted answers.

'I know I fell and I remember hitting the water. But I don't know how I got there.' No need telling him, this was not even her planet. 'The last thing I recall before falling was me being in a foreign lab.'

Shanks frowned at this. He hadn't heard about an occurrence like this one but there were reports about things considered impossible. Teleportation wasn't off the table.

'Maybe I should just tell you who I am, right? Sorry... I am Shanks, and yeah, pirate and all, but not to worry, tell us where you want to be taken to and we will figure something out.'

He smiled widely again. Sophie shook the extended hand. 'Sophie Larson, no one special, heading nowhere.'

* * *

Shanks decided she would stay with them for now. Once they reached an island things like that would be reconsidered. But as of things were right now, Sophie couldn't go anywhere else even if she wanted, and that she didn't. In return she would work wherever an extra hand was needed. The room was hers to have, too. It was tiny but in the dormatory she would have shared a room not much bigger for a while, so she didn't mind. Also...she was on a pirate ship! Sophie really found a few seconds to be excited about that.

Bur for the rest of the time she was exhausted, tired and occasionally dizzy and the doctor suspected she had to have some kind of concussion caused by the fall. Since resting up was the best treatment, she was put to bed and given some light sedative.

It gave her time to think things through. There wasn't likely to be a way back. She hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary the moment she regained consciousness. This might be the wrong perspective. She had seen nothing familiar. Until she was awake in the very same spot where she lay now. It was crazy really. She didn't even know One Piece that well. Still she had recognized her first visitor immediately. She knew how lucky she had gotten. It could have been any other ship and she had been likely in trouble.

How would she go on? Sophie just didn't know. Could she actually live here? What would become of her? She pushed the thought away. She was beginning to get drowsy.

Then it hit her very suddenly. Her medicine... Was it still in her backpack? Water wouldn't damage it, they were air sealed. But without them... If they had fallen out of it... She panicked again.

Regardless the sedative put her asleep shortly after.

* * *

When she woke up, it was dark. And she was hungry. Slipping out of the bed she remembered there were still pants to be put on.

She ran into the door, cursing when she hit her toes. Opening the door she found herself in a wooden hallway. It was lit, but she had no idea where the kitchen was. She tried to smell something but that didn't work. The most dominant odour was that of salt and wood. Taking a left turn she eventually ended up on the deck.

A few drunk crew members sat on a higher level and, well one could call it singing. A little ways further she could see a familiar red head taking a generous gulp out of a bottle.

She leaned on the railing next to him.

'Oh, hi! Awake again?' He grinned at her. Sophie knew a drunk when she saw one. Still she smiled back.

'Awake, and hungry.' His eyes grew wide. 'Oh yeah... You skipped lunch...and dinner... You want some?' He offered his bottle. Laughing she took it and emptied it on their way to the kitchen. Shanks got some scraps of food together for them and picked up two more bottles of sake.

Sophie enjoyed her food and the company. Shanks told her she was in the New World. This area belonged to his territory and they were headed to one of the largest cities of his. There she could leave the ship if she liked. He would help setting up a place for herself too.

But Sophie was curious about everything so the conversation soon left the island and went to other places he had been to. To people he had met, friends and foes. Shanks loved telling stories so the two bottles were soon empty as well as the two he had gotten afterwards.

They weren't really talking anymore; rather she giggled at him grinning which in turn made him laugh harder. Sophie rose, still having the giggles, to get the next supply.

'The fuck do you hide this stuff?' Sophie leaned in the doorframe. Shanks had to admit, her messy black hair gave a nice contrast to her pale skin. He stood and walked towards her. Sophie had not moved from her spot. Shanks brushed passed, looking at her. He had no time to react. She flew her arms up and kissed him.

She knew that might not be such a smart idea but Sophie was in a world of indifference. Everything had been taken from her, so she would take just one thing for herself.


End file.
